No state in the Union lost more soldiers in the Civil War than Ohio, which is partly why Columbus came up with its Blue Jackets name as a tribute. New Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock is a Civil War buff extraordinaire and once participated in a re-enactment at the Battle of Gettysburg.
In that sense, the marriage between the Blue Jackets and Hitchcock is a good one. Time will tell if it will be for the long term, but one thing is certain: Hitchcock’s time in the wilderness between coaching jobs was a lot shorter than that of Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during his darkest hour in the war.
Columbus wasted little time hiring Hitchcock after his dismissal this season by the Philadelphia Flyers. But already the Blue Jackets have started to play better under Hitchcock, and many hockey people believe Columbus general manager Doug MacLean made a great hire.
Former Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote is one of them. Foote was one of a few Blue Jackets players who lobbied hard to management to bring the one-time Stanley Cup winner into the fold.
“I felt if they were going to make a coaching move, he would be good for this team,” Foote said Monday after the Blue Jackets’ practice at the Pepsi Center. “We have a great locker room with a lot of enthusiasm. We just needed a little bit more direction and stability there. He was definitely a guy a lot of us were hoping would come.”
Hitchcock, who won a Cup with Dallas in 1999, will try to do something no Blue Jackets coach has done tonight against the Avalanche – beat it in a regular-season game. Colorado is 20-0-1-1 all-time against Columbus.
Hitchcock has always been one of hockey’s fascinating people, not just for his passion for a war that didn’t even happen in his native country (he is Canadian). Hitchcock is the rare coach who will say whatever is on his mind, openly and honestly. He also made it in a sport at which he never played professionally, and at one time tipped the scales at nearly 500 pounds, enduring the verbal abuse from fans, opponents and even an occasional player of his because of it.
Hitchcock became a success through a maniacal zeal to win. That hasn’t lessened, but his methods of expressing it in his coaching have naturally evolved. The rap on Hitchcock has been that he’s too hard on his players and takes every loss like it’s the end of the world, which mentally wears out his players.
“Am I demanding? I’m not near as demanding as I once was,” Hitchcock said. “But I don’t apologize for being demanding and making my players accountable. I’m way different (from a junior coach). Because you didn’t lose many games (then), every loss was a disaster. When you’re playing 66 games and you’re winning 48 of them, every (loss) is a disaster.”
Hitchcock used to rant and rave at his players when he wasn’t happy, but admitted he has learned to curb that behavior. It can be a big detriment to the team, he has found.
“You learn over time that all the players remember, if you get mad at them after a game, is that you were mad. They don’t remember what you said,” Hitchcock said. “You learn that anything you do constructive always has to happen the next day. It might make you feel a little bit better if you have a temper tantrum, but it doesn’t do the players any good, and nobody remembers a darn word you said.”
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
SPOTLIGHT ON SERGEI FEDOROV
It seems hard to believe the former Red Wing would someday be tied for only third on a last-place team in scoring, but that is the case for Fedorov. Still, the Russian forward has played well of late and remains one of the most skilled players in the NHL. He was long a thorn in the side of the Avs in Detroit’s many battles with Colorado, and will go down as one of the league’s best skaters ever and a possible Hall of Famer.
NOTEBOOK
BUDAJ IN NET: The Avalanche will start Peter Budaj in goal tonight. Budaj shut out the Blue Jackets 3-0 in the most recent meeting between the teams, Nov. 17 in Columbus. Avalanche coach Joel Quenneville said goalie Jose Theodore, who had to come out of Saturday’s game against Vancouver after the first period because of a hip-flexor strain, is feeling good. Theodore practiced Monday and should play during the Avs’ two-game road trip to San Jose and Los Angeles this week.
FOOTNOTES: Based on Monday’s practice, Avalanche winger Antti Laaksonen probably will be a healthy scratch for tonight’s game. Laaksonen did not skate on any of the regular lines in practice. Cody McCormick took his spot on the fourth line with Brad Richardson and Ian Laperriere. … The Blue Jackets have been shut out 49 times in their five-plus seasons in the NHL. They also have only 49 road victories since entering the league. … Blue Jackets winger Nikolai Zherdev will not play tonight because of an injury.
– Adrian Dater, Denver Post staff writer
COLUMBUS AT COLORADO
7 p.m. tonight, Altitude, KKFN 950 AM
